Character profile

Funbarus — the little animals holding on with all their might

A Japanese plush that was only supposed to stop you slouching over your laptop. Instead it earned a name, a personality, a favourite food — and a miniature version that people now stick to their phones all over Europe.

Dreams Inc. · Japan · since 2023

A word that's hard to translate

In Japanese, funbaru (踏ん張る) means to brace your legs. To dig your feet into the ground and refuse to be knocked over — literally and figuratively. It's what you say about someone who holds out even when it's hard; someone clinging to the edge with their last ounce of strength. Add a plural ending and you get ふんばるず — Funbaruzu, written in Europe as Funbarus. The ones who don't give up.

English has no single word for it either. We have “hang in there”, which we say to a friend having a rough week, and “you've got this”, which we say before an exam. Funbarus are exactly that — a small, furry “hang in there” that keeps you company at your desk.

funbaruzu · the ones who don't give up

An anti-slouch plush

In February 2023, Dreams — the same company behind Sonny Angel and Smiski (I wrote about it in my profile of Toru Soeya) — released a series of plushies with a very specific job. A Funbaruzu goes between your stomach and the edge of your desk. To stop the animal from falling, you have to hold it gently with your body — which means you can't hunch over the keyboard. Your back straightens by itself.

The first four were a rabbit, a bear, a sloth and an orangutan. Back then they cost just under 3,000 yen, less than dinner in Tokyo. And here's the best joke of the whole series: the animals that watch your posture are slouching themselves. They hang off the edge of the table with their paws clenched on the desktop, as if they were the ones fighting for their lives. You sit up straight, and the little animal does all the hard work.

A heart inside

Every Funbaruzu has a heart-shaped cushion inside. It does all the work here — it gives you resistance to lean your stomach against and supports your body when, after hours of sitting, you start slumping forward. Dreams talks about it with Japanese tenderness: the little animal has a heart that helps you stand tall.

As a psychology student, I see more in this than a clever gadget. None of us can last at a desk just because we “should sit up straight”. But when you're making sure something small doesn't fall, your body straightens on its own, because you're caring for someone. It's not a medical device and it won't replace a physiotherapist — it's more of a reminder built from tenderness rather than guilt. And maybe that's why it works.

Each one has a name, a personality and a favourite food

Dreams didn't create ordinary plushies, but a whole cast. Every Funbaruzu has a name, a personality and a short biography, a bit like manga characters. Hop the rabbit is spoiled and won't fall asleep unless lying on its owner's tummy. Brownie the bear is bold and self-assured. Nosly the sloth is lazy and unflappable.

Then the family started to grow. In winter 2023 came warming versions with a pouch you heat in the microwave — including Hokkoro, Nosly's big brother, a croquette fan who apparently has never once lost his temper. In spring 2024 two fairy-tale creatures joined: the yeti Mocotti, who is happiest over a mug of hot corn soup and wakes up completely dishevelled, and the unicorn Stella, who lives on cotton candy, looks fragile and has an iron will.

There were collaborations too — with Spy × Family, Sanrio and Chiikawa. And in September 2026 the line-up welcomed Montan, a life-of-the-party monkey who rewards himself with a mountain of bananas, and a refreshed Jonny the duck, who takes a selfie every day to show off his hairdo and dreams of becoming an idol.

From plush to figure

And this is where Funbarus meet Dreams' other big hit. Sonny Angel Hippers are angels that don't stand, but lie on their tummies and peek over an edge — of a laptop, a monitor, a phone, a photo frame. They have a strip that sticks and unsticks again and again. The match was obvious: an animal clinging to the edge of a desk, shrunk into a figure clinging to the edge of your things.

Hippers Funbarus

Sloth, rabbit, penguin, shiba, panda, duck + secret

69,99 zł

Hippers Funbarus Series 2

Axolotl, cat, monkey, koala, lobster, seal + secret

75,99 zł

Series 1 — the classics

Six animals: a sloth, a rabbit, a penguin, a shiba inu, a panda and a duck. The secret is a sleeping sloth — the most sloth-like secret anyone could have come up with. Instead of fighting not to fall, it simply fell asleep on the edge.

Series 2 — a less obvious crew

The second series from 2026 goes for less obvious animals, which is exactly why I love it: a monkey and a seal with curly tails, a koala with huge ears, a calico cat, an axolotl and a lobster. A lobster clinging to your laptop — just what the world was missing. The secret is a golden axolotl. The box also includes a stand, so the figure can simply sit on your desk when it isn't hanging off anything.

The function fades, the gesture stays

For me, this is the most interesting part of the whole story. The Funbaruzu plush is a tool — it's meant to straighten your back. The Hippers figure doesn't straighten anything. It's five centimetres tall and sticks to your phone. The whole function has disappeared, and only the pose remains: the little bum in the air, the paws clenched on the edge, the round eyes and an expression full of effort.

And that is exactly the moment when a functional item becomes an object. When something stops being for something yet still speaks to us, it speaks through gesture alone. Funbarus as a figure is a small sculpture about perseverance. You stick it to your laptop, and every time you open it, someone small reminds you that you've got this too.

Meet the Funbaruzu family

Frequently asked questions

Is Funbarus a Sonny Angel?

Not quite. Funbaruzu is a separate plush line from Dreams — the same Japanese company that makes Sonny Angel and Smiski. The Hippers Funbarus figures are a joint project of both worlds: the Hippers form, the Funbarus characters.

How do I attach a Hippers figure?

There's a reusable adhesive strip on the figure's tummy. Stick it to a smooth, flat surface — a phone case, a laptop lid, the edge of a monitor — and peel it off whenever you want to move it somewhere else.

What's inside the blind box?

One random figure. Each series has six regular designs and one secret — in the first it's the sleeping sloth, in the second the golden axolotl. I sell the boxes unopened, so the surprise is real.

Does the plush really help with posture?

It works as a reminder: to hold it in place, you can't lean forward. It's not a medical device — if your back seriously hurts, see a physiotherapist. But as a soft, everyday “sit up straight” signal, it works surprisingly well.